Smock Talk!

A few months ago I discovered smocked clothing auctions on Facebook!  These little gems were well on course to wreck a perfectly balanced family budget.  It is quite the rush to bid against thousands of other smockaholics for sometimes one of a kind outfits for really great prices.  You have to be quick on the refresh button and ready to type fast!  It all started with this adorable purple popsicle bubble!  I totally could not live without it!  My mom and I had both of our computers up waiting for it to pop onto the screen!

Next...I knew that KG would need something patriotic for Memorial Day, Mark's Graduation and July 4th.  

I found this little ballet slipper outfit at Market.  It is for next summer, but it is just too cute!  I had never seen a smocked ballet outfit!

We call K our little bug...love bug...cuddle bug...etc. so obviously she needed a lady bug dress!  This one if for the fall.  :)

This was a steal of a deal!  It was $15 and has slightly imperfect smocking.  It is actually a shirt and will go over leggings or cute ruffle jeans for Christmas time!  

And lastly, I ordered this custom seersucker smocked outfit that will also work for any patriotic functions! It came with bows over the buttons, but they didn't stay on long.  I need to sew them back on as soon as I get a chance.  

So, I think I am an official smockaholic and admitting it is the first step to recovery....right!?  I've resigned from smocked shopping for the rest of this season, but I've already got my eyes peeled for some cute fall and winter stuff!  I think I've got my mom hooked too!  K has a cute little princess outfit on the way from Nonni!  

5 month photo shoots

I've been trying to practice more with my camera this month, so we have had a few impromptu photo shoots.  I'm convinced I need to attend a photography course to really learn the tricks of the trade, but I'd say this is my favorite hobby right now!  Here are a few pics from the past few weeks...

April Fun

April was an awesome month filled with lots of visitors...

It started with a visit from Mimi and Granddad Pemberton!  We went to a special dinner at Chesley (a fancy mansion in the Shenandoah Valley!)  It was a fun night to get dressed up and listen to a presentation about a really awesome organization for soldiers who need healing for their hearts.  Unfortunately, we all forgot cameras, but we Mark looked super handsome in his blues and Kenleigh was dressed in her best pink outfit!  It was a special time and we were glad Mark's parents were able to come and spend some time with us.

We had more visitors the next week for Easter!  Nonni and Nannie flew up from TX and it was Nannie's first trip to DC.  We had a fun-filled weekend packed full of touring DC, eating cupcakes in Georgetown and spending the day at Mt. Vernon.  It was so special to have them here with us for Kenleigh's first Easter!

The whole crew at the WW2 Memorial

Nannie goes to the White House!  If only they had let her in, I'm sure she would have solved all of the world's problems.  

First family Easter pic!

4 generations!  

The next weekend we didn't get any visitors, but we did go see the Nationals play the Reds.  We took a boat from Old Town and it dropped us off at the game!  Super cool!  

I'm not sure K will be attending any more baseball games in the near future!  

Also this month, K had her first ponytail!!!!

Last weekend, some very dear friends from TX came to see us with their sweet 8 month old little guy!  It was a really great trip and our little ones were quite the troopers!  We toted them all over the place and saw lots of cool things.  Kristen and I did the Tour de Cupcake!  We had a different cupcake shop every day and rated them on icing and density of cupcake.  I can give you the full run down on cupcakes if you come visit me!  We also bought matching outfits for our kids and took photos in the yard....so cute!

Well, that is the short version of our month so far!  Tonight we had dinner with some long time friends that are in the Airforce and are moving HERE in June!  I could not be more excited!!!!!  

Cherry Blossoms

At the end of March, the Cherry Blossom trees were blooming in DC!  It is an absolutely gorgeous site and if you have never seen it...I highly recommend it.  

Here is the Jefferson Memorial!

I can't get enough of this Daddy-Daughter love!  This girl loooovves her Daddy!  

It was a fun outing and we will definitely be returning next year if we still live in the area.  :)

I'm back...

Seriously, I stink at blogging these days and it is totally unacceptable.  I'm going to try to do a few posts to get caught up and then go from there.  Clearly, I will just hit the high points because I have been absent for far too long.  And...I think I should probably update the picture in the header since we are now a family of 3!  Updates coming...I'm sure all of my 2 readers out there will be thrilled!  :)

Adventures in Baby Food

Once Kenleigh turned 4 months old we started trying out some food.  She was seeming like she was always hungry and sometimes fussy.  She also watched us eat very intently and had started reaching for our plates and cups.  Those are some signs that a baby might be ready and the pediatrician gave us the go ahead at our 4 month appointment.  

I had decided before K was born that I wanted to make my own baby food.  My main reason was the ingredients in a jar of baby food are unrecognizable and it is somewhat disturbing to me that you can have a jar of bananas that stay good for much longer than a banana should be good.  I guess I have taken some what of a granola approach at baby raising when it comes to what is going into her perfect little body.  However, I now have another reason....cost!  I found these little pouches of organic baby food with very few ingredients, but they are $1.49 each.  That is only for one food and one serving of that food.  I can make pears for .30 each serving!  That is $1.19 savings at each meal.  That would add up!  I can make apples for .38 per serving.  Therefore, I have more money left over to buy cute clothes for this little baby girl!  :)  It is a win for all....K gets healthy food and cute clothes....I get to shop more...My husband is happy that I am saving money!  And...it doesn't take long at all!  I need to get more organized and prepare larger batches at a time, but she isn't really eating that much yet, so it has been working fine so far.  

I have a handy dandy baby bullet that purees the food, but I'm sure you can use any blender or food processor.  You simply steam the fruit or veggie...add a little water and blend.  Then you can pour it in to ice cube trays or little trays that are made for baby food.  I freeze pretty much everything I make and then I thaw it as needed.  Once K starts eating more on a regular basis, I will thaw food in the fridge the night before, so it is ready to go for the next day. So far, I have made sweet potatoes, apples, pears, peas and asparagus. Kenleigh has tried cereal, sweet potatoes and pears.  Tomorrow she gets to try apples!  Yummy!

An attempt at Paleo

I've been reading a lot about different ways to eat/diet and one that stood out to me was the Paleo Diet.  In a nutshell you eat like cave people!  They were hunters and gatherers.  The diet eliminates dairy, grains, sugar and all processed foods.  You focus on eating real foods...meats, fruits, veggies and nuts.  Initially, I thought I would do this 100% for 30 days and see how I felt.  I've been doing more reading and I think realistically I can probably eat this way 80% of the time.  I think that cutting out processed food is a great start to eating this way.  I don't really need to be consuming loads of sugar, so I plan to cut that out as well...except for the occasional cupcake!  :)  Let's be real people!  As for dairy...I've noticed that when I have too much dairy, Kenleigh gets a really bad tummy ache, so I've already tried to cut back.  Grains are going to be the hardest thing to cut out.  I'm a carboholic!  Today was day one and I was 100% cave girl!  :)  My goal is to lose the rest of this baby weight safely and healthily and to be an overall healthy person.  I also want to be in the habit of eating lots of fruits and veggies, so that when the time comes, I will be a good food role model for KG.  I've heard day 3-4 are the hardest...I'll keep you posted.

Spring Break

Who says that almost 30 year olds don't still have Spring Break?  Last week we celebrated Spring Break with Trey, Kayse, my Mama, and the lovely Shurack girls.  We had a great time and packed a lot of fun into just a few short days!

The week started with picking up Trey and Kayse in Baltimore on Tuesday!  We decided to take advantage of being in Baltimore and we went to see the Inner Harbor.  We planned to take a tour of the 4 historic ships, but we missed the last tour, so we toured the aquarium instead.  It wasn't the best aquarium in the world, but we still had a fun time.

KG loves her Uncle Bubba!

One of the ships we did not get to see. :(

The boys with the baby

Adorable couple!  Seriously!!!!

My family!

Another cool ship...guess we will be making another trip to Baltimore!

Wednesday morning I took Kayse and Trey into DC to see a few of the monuments.  It was fast and furious, but it was good exercise and we got to see the new MLK memorial.  

That afternoon we picked up the Shuracks and Nonni and headed directly to the beach!  It was perfect weather, an awesome hotel...but the trip was just too short.  We did soak up a few rays and sat by the pool during the day.  For dinner we had some amazing seafood, took a walk down the boardwalk, ate ice cream, chatted by the fire and played games!  Sadly the very next morning we had to leave! :(

Eating at Mahi Mah's

Beach Baby!

Eating breakfast at Citrus!  Best french toast I have ever had!

The beautiful Shurack girls!

We left the beach for a girls shopping day in Georgetown and the boys headed to the gun range.  I got some cute new clothes that are NOT maternity!  They aren't my pre-preg size, but they are cute and will be good transition clothes while I'm working on it.  And no trip to Georgetown is complete without cupcakes! These are my FAVORITE cupcakes in the world...and I've tried a lot of cupcakes.  We finished off the trip with pizza and games and sadly said "see ya later" the next morning!  Please come back and see us soon!